


Competing Athletes AU

by Dragongoddess13



Series: AU Fest [5]
Category: Game of Thrones (TV)
Genre: F/M, competing athletes au
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-04-19
Updated: 2020-04-19
Packaged: 2021-03-02 05:14:00
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 778
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23739658
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Dragongoddess13/pseuds/Dragongoddess13
Summary: “Anyone who sees what you can do and still thinks money bought your way here, doesn’t understand how any of this works. They aren’t worth your time.”
Relationships: Arya Stark/Gendry Waters
Series: AU Fest [5]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1709878
Comments: 5
Kudos: 68





	Competing Athletes AU

#5

Competing Athletes AU

Gendrya

xXx

“You have the patience of Job, mate.” Podrick says one afternoon, pulling Gendry from his count. 

“What are you talking about?” 

Podrick rolls his eyes. “Your main competitor is the queen bee herself. I don’t know how you haven’t gone off on the injustice of it.” 

Gendry sighs. “Not you too? I thought you were above that?” 

Podrick looks taken back. “Above what?” 

“Above assuming her family’s money got her here. Money doesn’t buy talent, you know this as well as anyone, your family isn’t exactly starving.” Gendry snaps. “And stop calling her that. She worked hard to get here, just like everyone else. She’s probably one of the only people here who put in more time than anyone else.” 

“Yeah, well it’s easy to put in the time when you come from one of the richest families in the world.” he mutters under his breath, then out loud; “I mean you can buy all the time you want at training centers, with the best trainers and athletes in the world with the kind of money they have to throw around.” 

“And none of that would have meant shite if she didn’t have the talent for those trainers to mold, would it.” 

Podrick can't seem to argue with that. 

Gendry looks across the gym, watching the petite woman lift weights in a retitive count. Arya Stark, youngest daughter of Eddard Stark, she was descended from a long and ancient family line. There wasn’t a place in Westeros you could go where people didn’t know the name Stark. 

The truth was, when she had first popped up on his radar he had thought exactly like Podrick claimed he should. A rich socialite destined for dinner parties with the elite and nightclubs around the world. But it wasn’t long before he realized she was as down to earth as any human being could be. She didn’t seem to give her name any thought unless she could use it to her benefit, which usually meant using it to help someone else. 

Gendry would never forget the day he realized all of this. They had been working out alone after hours in the gym and while technically they weren’t supposed to be there, there wasn’t really anyone around to kick them out. Until there was. The vice principal showed up, telling him he needed to leave, only to stop short when he noticed Arya. before he could even say anything to her, she simply said “he’s with me” and the VP left it at that, letting them get back to work. He was never asked to leave after hours again. 

They became friends after that, training together. They were in different sports, but the team to represent the school in nationals was small and all the sports were held up against each other to determine who would make the cut. They both did, and now they were here, ready to show off their years of work. 

“Hey.” her voice pulls him from his thoughts as he finishes suiting up just outside the locker room. There’s a small area invisible to anyone walking by and he’s been taking his time finishing in the hopes that she’ll find him here. 

“Hey, you ready for this?” he asks. He watches her take a deep breath, trying to swallow down the nerves. 

“Yeah, Iam.” she finally says. “I just…” she hesitates. “There are a lot of people who think I don’t belong here and… I’m torn between winning for myself and winning just to prove them wrong.” 

Gendry smiles sadly, leaning down to kiss her. So maybe they had become more than friends in the ensuing years. A little secret just between the two of them. She had made such a stink to her family about not having time for relationships between school work and training that now that she had found someone she actually wanted to make time for she was embarrassed to admit it to her family. Gendry on the other hand didn’t want anyone accusing him of using Arya for her money. She was so much more than her family name, and she deserved to be seen as such. 

“Fuck’em, Arry.” he tells her when he pulls away. “Anyone who sees what you can do and still thinks money bought your way here, doesn’t understand how any of this works. They aren’t worth your time.” 

She smiles up at him, one of those bright genuine smiles he loves so much. “I love you.” she tells him. 

He smiles back. “I love you too.” he tells her. “Now go out there and show’em what hard work can do.”


End file.
